~Lank Rigg~
18th September 2020
Lank Rigg Summit
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I can't imagine anyone tells all their mates that today's the day they are going to climb Lank Rigg; surely nobody has their ashes scattered up there and who could be so careless as to leave Lank Rigg to last in their quest to climb 214 Lakeland Fells? So, I kept it relatively quiet and arrived at an unattended stretch of Coldfell Road at 1100hrs. As I was putting my boots on, four other cars rolled up and disturbed the peace. They were all going up Cold Fell. I told them I was going up Lank Rigg..."That's nice" said one of the ladies in the party....
To Whoap Beck
The very first photo shows Dent Fell and the second one is Lank Rigg. Here we are walking into the quiet solitude of Whoap Beck. My only previous visit to Lank Rigg was in March 2011, it's a bit out of the way.
Comb Beck
I have travelled from home and this will be my first camping trip of the year, maybe the only camping trip of the year. Since campsites reopened, I have been unimpressed by the behaviour of some who have let the side down. All manner of litter and little regard for the wellbeing of the campsite owners and the environment. As usual, a few spoil it for everyone. One campsite closed down and others never actually opened and are waiting for better days.
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Whoap Beck |
Lank Rigg Ascent |
It's a warm day and the chap on the right has had enough excitement on Lank Rigg and passes us on his way to Whoap, or wherever he can find to go in this area.
Molly at the summit of Lank Rigg 1,775ft asl
The anticipation of summiteering for Molly is shown in the usual manner of touching the Trig. When Wainwright penned his Book Seven and wrote about Lank Rigg: "Meeting another human is outside the realms of possibility. Die here, unaccompanied, and your disappearance from society is likely to remain an unsolved mystery."
The Summit
Wainwright left a two-shilling piece under a flat stone up here. Now other folks have done similar things, but what is the point? Just like hammering coins into dead tree trunks, who benefits from this careless attitude towards cash?
£3.10
Back in the day, two shillings would have bought fish and chips, but not today. If £3.10 could have bought fish and chips I might have taken it with me. As it was I left the cash and replaced the flat rock.
Lank Rigg Tarn
Away from all the eagerness related to attaining the summit, we walk past a small tarn to a quiet place where you will find somewhere to sit and eat your sandwiches and cake.
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Whoap Summit |
Heading Down |
Molly bags another summit. Whoap...Wope or Who Ap or Wap? What a daft name for a slightly elevated expanse of uninteresting grassland. Apparently there are gold bars underneath the big stone on top of Whoap.
Cooling Off
Whoap (left) And Lank Rigg
A last look back at the landscape of Whoap and Lank Rigg. On both occasions now I have had good reason to climb Lank Rigg and tick certain boxes. I can't really imagine returning....but who knows and there are other routes for the avid explorer.
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Nethertown Railway Station
As if we hadn't already had enough excitement for one day, after pitching the tent at Ellergill Raise Campsite, Molly and I had a walk down to Nethertown Railway Station. There is just one platform for this, the least used station in Cumbria. How come the platform is on the far side, meaning all passengers have to cross the line? I sat in the small shelter and rather arrogantly didn't wear a facecovering, then used my modern mobile phone to check the train times to see if we might go up to Whitehaven for fish and chips. There would be a 3 hour wait for the next train, so back to the tent and car for the short journey up the coast.
Ellergill Raise Campsite
The campsite in Nethertown, near Egremont is ideal. Away from Lakeland rowdies and no pub anywhere near, so no boozy folk. No hot water, £1 for a shower, plenty of pitches and some have power for those who need to watch tv and stuff.
Walkers: Molly and Me.
Time taken: 3hrs over a distance of about 5.5miles.
Route: Coldfell Road, Whoap Beck, Lank Rigg, Whoap, return to the car.
Weather and conditions: Sunny and slightly cool in the light breeze.
Refreshments: Fish and Chips in Whitehaven.....£7 ish
When you have a little time on your hands, try YouTube and look for Geoff Marshall's "Least Used Stations", it's far better than watching the news.
All photos copyright Richard Ratcliffe 2020 ©
Take me back to the start ....